Evolution
by The Guardian of Timelines
Summary: My first FanFiction of a series other than Wings of Fire! I hope you'll like it!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Dr. Michael N. Watcher picked up his cell phone and dialed. Putting it to his ear, he listened to it ringing, then the ringing stopped as his call was answered.

"Dr. Watcher, I see you've finally remembered us." The voice on the opposite end of the line said dryly.

Watcher ignored the verbal jab. "I need four new test subjects." He said briefly.

"More canines?" The man asked.

"No." Watcher answered. "I'm done testing on canines. Subject D survived."

So, you've decided to move on to phase 2?" The man asked,his tone indicating surprise.

"Yes. I've identified four candidates." Watcher said. "I emailed you their pictures. Take them all."

There was a grunt of affirmation, then Watcher ended the call. He walked over to his desk and sat down in his desk chair, dropping his phone onto his desk.

He sat there for a few minutes, then picked his phone back up and dialed another number.

"Yes, what is it Dr. Watcher?" Christopher Howard, the director of LIRI asked.

"I need the building I'm in on lockdown for a week." Watcher said.

"Why?"

"Possible healt hazard, only I will have access." Watcher answered, before hanging up.

Setting his phone down, he hit a few keys on the keyboard of his computer, bringing up a modeled strand of DNA.

"If they fulfill their end of the deal, I'll fulfill mine." Watcher said softly, scanning the DNA strand with his eyes.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Sometimes, I wonder what would have happened if we hadn't gone to Loggerhead that day.

Maybe we wouldn't have been captured.

Maybe we wouldn't have evolved.

I'm getting head of myself though. My name is Chris Stow, I'm 16, and I've discovered I have a really bad habit of getting into trouble.

That afternoon, I was at the Charleston city marina, waiting onboard a sleek black speedboat I had bought a few weeks earlier. I had rechristened it _Nightstriker_ , and every so often I used it to take me and my friends out to Loggerhead island.

As I stood waiting by the wheel, I pulled my phone out of my pocket to see if I had any texts from my girlfriend telling me why they were running late. Seeing nothing, I shoved it back into my pocket.

Glancing back towards the shore, I saw a single figure running towards me. Tapping my foot, I waited until they neared the boat.

"Hey Chris." John Mathwin said, grinning at me from the dock. "Mind if I come aboard?"

I shook my head and he stepped aboard. I watched him as he went towards the bow of _Nightstriker_. I had met John my first day in Charleston, and we had become close friends.

"So, when do you think we should expect Julia and Max?" I asked, and John shrugged.

"Last time I got a text from Max, he said he had a bunch of homework." John muttered.

"When was this?" I asked, and John looked at me dryly.

"Two months ago." He answered, and I stared at him. He glared back at me, a challenge in his eyes, so I turned away. Looking back up the dock, I waited patiently. Eventually, I was rewarded by the sight of two people running towards the boat, one obviously being chased by the other. I glanced at John, who had turned around and was watching them approach.

"Max say something to Julia today again?" I asked, and he shrugged.

"No clue." Came the answer, and with a grunt of annoyance I turned my attention back to my other two friends.

Max reached the boat first, literally throwing himself onboard. A few minutes later, Julia walked up, stepping onto the boat and heading back to the seat I had installed next to mine at the wheel. She sat down and smiled at me.

"So Chris, what's the plan today?" She asked, and I held up a hand.

"First, why were you chasing Max?" I asked, and she glanced at where Max collapsed in a chair, breathing hard.

"For fun." She responded, looking back at me. Rolling my eyes, I started the engine of _Nightstriker_. John jumped back onto the dock and untied the mooring rope, throwing it onboard before stepping back on. As soon as he had gotten on, I pushed the throttle forwards and shot out of the marina, heading for open water.

"Hey Chris?" Max said from where he sat, looking at his phone. "Mind explaining to me why we're headed towards Loggerhead?"

I grinned to myself. Earlier in the week I had gone to Loggerhead Island, home to LIRI, to see if anything new was going on. I had accidentally stumbled upon a baby wolf pup, not one of the wolfdogs that were more commonly seen on Loggerhead, but an actual wolf pup. Then the next day I had gone back to where I had found him, but couldn't locate him. However, I had noticed tracks and followed them back to right outside the fence of LIRI.

"We're going to do some breaking and entering." I said, my grin fading as I turned serious. "I'm a hundred percent certain there's a wolf pup being held captive in one of the labs at LIRI, and I'm determined to get him out."

"Do you know which lab?" John asked, and I nodded.

"One of the labs recently had a new door with an electronic security system installed." I said. "He's in there without a doubt."

"How you plan to get us past the security?" Julia asked, and a grin crossed my face.

"Oh no." Max groaned. "I recognize that look. It's the same one he had before he hacked the library's computer and made it randomly play rock music."

"Wait, what?" Julia and John both said, turning to look at me. Shrugging, I patted a bag next to me.

"I have my laptop right here." I said, grinning even broader. "I already have a foothold into LIRI's system, so it'll be easy to get in."

"What's your plan though?" John asked again.

"Easy. Kill the lights and the backup generators for them, unlock the front gate, get in, find the lab, rescue the pup, get out, relock the gate, turn the power back on to the backup generators and the lights." I said, pulling a case from my pocket. "And I'm prepared."

As everyone focused their attention forwards, I continued heading towards Loggerhead island, hoping my timing was correct.

 **A/N:**

 **Sorry for the delay in updating this story, it's just hard to write outside of my usual combination of 1st/3rd person POV... just writing plain 1st person is a challenge for me, so thank you for those who hung in waiting for this story to be updated. I promise you chapter 2 will be posted soon.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Just as the sun touched the horizon, I pulled up to the dock at LIRI. Cutting the engine, I drifted up silently, and John jumped out, tying up the mooring line. As Max and Julia climbed out, I grabbed my laptop bag and climbed out after them. Pointing along the path, I slunk down it, the rest of the group following me.

As soon as I could see the front gate of LIRI, I headed off the path slightly. As soon as the others had caught up to me, I pulled my laptop out of its bag and opened it, powering it up. As soon as it had turned on, I entered my password before pulling up a program and starting to type away.

"How much longer Chris?" John asked from where he stood, eyeing LIRI's compound.

"Right… now." I said, pressing the enter key. Shoving my laptop back in its bag, I slung the strap over my shoulder. "Let's go."

Sneaking back onto the path, we headed towards LIRI, which was now completely dark. As soon as we reached the front gate, I pulled the case out of my pocket, removing a few tools out of it. Sliding them into the lock, I started moving them around, before a slight click met my ears and the lock unlatched. Pocketing the tools, I opened the gate slightly, slipping in with the others following.

"This way." I hissed quietly, heading towards the lab that I was certain the wolf pup was inside. I reached the door, and a few seconds later the others caught up to me.

"Good luck picking that." Max said sarcastically, pointing a finger at the electronic lock. Rolling my eyes, I pulled my phone out of my pocket, unlocking it and opening up an app I had designed specifically for this purpose. I touched the top edge of my phone to the electronic lock, and after a minute a beep sounded, and the door opened slightly.

"I take it back." Max said, holding up his hands before following me into the lab along with Julia. John slipped inside the door and closed it just enough to were it looked like it was closed. Turning on my phones flashlight, I swept it around, illuminating multiple tables strewn with test tubes and papers, as well as a desk set against one wall with a computer. I took a step towards the computer, when Julia gasped and grabbed my arm. I followed the direction of her gaze and saw a cage sitting against the back wall, with a ball of fur lying motionless on the ground.

Racing over, I grabbed the lock on the cage and pulled my lock pick tools from my pocket. After a few seconds, the lock sprang open, and I took it off the door to the cage, opening it and pulling the wolf pup out. The pup opened its eyes, looking up at me, before letting out a small yip.

"Shhh." I said gently, before handing the pup to Julia. Glancing at the cage, I saw a clipboard attached to it. Reading it, I stopped as I saw the words Parvovirus XPB-192.

"Go back to John and head for the boat." I said. "I'll catch up."

As they headed off, I grabbed multiple medical supplies, including a couple IV's. Shoving them into a separate pocket in my laptop bag, I hurried out of the lab, closing the door behind me. As I hurried across the clearing to the gate, I heard a door begin to open. Putting on a burst of speed, I reached the gate and slipped through, closing it and locking the lock, before racing silently up the path.

I reached the dock a few minutes later and tossed my laptop bag to John, who handed it down to Julia. As I jumped onboard, John untied the mooring line and tossed it onboard, jumping on after it. I started the engine and threw the throttle into reverse, shooting away from Loggerhead island at top speed before suddenly cutting the throttle and spinning around to face forwards, before I pushed the throttle all the way forwards.

"One.. sec." Max groaned, before he hurried to the side of the boat. With a sigh, I focused on driving, keeping my eyes forward. When Max rejoined the group, Julia was the first to speak.

"Where are we going to keep him?" She asked, petting the wolf pup that she was now holding in her lap.

"Well, there's our clubhouse." I grunted, steering _Nightstriker_ towards Morris Island. "And I'd be there to keep an eye on him because of…" My voice broke and I shook my head, blinking to keep tears out of my eyes.

Three years ago, when I had moved here with my mom and dad, everything had been fine with them. Then, two years ago my dad discovered that my mom had been cheating on him. They started fighting every night, arguing and starting work on divorce papers. Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore, and had moved all my belongings to the clubhouse that my friends and I had built. My parents had forgotten about me anyways, so I lived in peace. And since my dad worked at LIRI, I was able to continue attending school with my friends.

As the deck of our clubhouse came into view and John picked up the rope to tie us off, I slowed the boat down, drifting up to the dock. John climbed out and tied the rope to one of the docks posts, before taking my laptop bag as I handed it to him. I climbed up and turned, taking the wolf pup from Julia before turning and walking towards our clubhouse.

As soon as the four of us had become friends, we had pooled our creativity and skills and built the clubhouse on one end of Morris island, away from everyone else. We had designed it, built it, decorated it, and I had even figured out how to wire electrity and plumbing into it, making it fully functional. And, since it was isolated, it was a peaceful place to live, in my opinion.

Pushing open the front door, I carried the pup to a spot next to the sofa I had managed to buy from a yard sale. A small smile crossed my face as I remembered the trouble it caused lugging it back to Morris Island.

As soon as I set the pup down, I reached a hand out behind me and snapped my fingers.

"Laptop bag. Now please." I said, and I felt the handle being set in my hand as John gave it to me. I set it down and pulled out an IV, setting it up before standing up and dropping onto the sofa, running a hand through my hair.

After a few seconds of silence, John grunted something unintelligible before heading out the door. Max followed him almost right away, leaving Julia and I alone. I looked up into her eyes, looking for some indication of what she was thinking.

After a few moments, I leaned back, and Julia left. I looked to the side and saw the wolf pup laying on the floor, it's tail moving slowly back and forth.

I smiled. If only I had known what was going to happen, maybe I wouldn't have.


	4. Chapter 3

**So, yeah, finally hearing from this after a while! I'm going to be updating this story more often now!**

 **Chapter 3**

The next morning, I pushed myself up from the sofa, groaning as my head swam. I had gone to sleep right where I had been sitting, and now my head was throbbing.

"Damn morning headaches." I growled to myself as I stood up. I managed to take a few steps, before the pain doubled and I fell to one knee, gasping.

 **SNAP.**

There was a flash of light behind my eyes and I let out an involuntary yelp, falling backwards. I waited for another wave of pain, but nothing came. All of a sudden, I was overwhelmed by a strong smell coming from under the sofa. My eyes watered at the strength of it.

 _How could I miss that if I slept there all night?_ I thought, before reaching under it and pulling out one of my socks that I had lost a while ago.

Holding it far out in front of me, I carried it to the laundry room, dropping it in a hamper. I went upstairs, headed for my room, thinking that if I could sit down it may help.

 **SNUP.**

I stumbled, falling to one knee as I suddenly felt like all the energy in my body had vanished. With a groan, I stood up, leaning on the wall for support.

"What is happening to me?" I said aloud, before pushing off the wall and walking towards the stairs. I stumbled down them and went over to the sofa, collapsing on it.

The phone started ringing loudly, and with a groan I rolled off the sofa, climbing to my feet and walking over to it, picking it up and muttering "Chris talking."

"Chris, you also having bad headaches?" Julia's voice asked, and I grunted an affirmation.

"Yeah. Contact John and Max, we need to do a video chat." I said, before hanging up and walking over to where my computer sat. Opening it up, I joined our video chat channel and plugged in my gamer headphones, positioning the microphone in front of my mouth so I'd be able to be heard.

"I just want to die." Max's voice sounded from my earpieces as he joined, looking like he hadn't slept at all.  
"I wish I could kill you to shut your griping up." Juhn muttered as he joined, before Julia joined, brushing some hair from her face.  
"So, I see that we're all feeling the exact same this morning." I said, before grunting as my head throbbed. "I'm going to head to the library, see if I can find anything useful there. Max, John, try not to kill each other. Julia, make sure nobody dies."

Julia nodded, before I disconnected from the video chat and pulled off my headphones. Leaping up, I hurried from the house despite my headache, grabbing the keys to the _Nightstriker_ and hurrying down to the dock, unmooring it and leaping in, turning the ignition before pulling out and speeding off towards Charleston.

* * *

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." I growled to myself as I closed a book, standing and taking it back to its shelf and shoving it into its spot.

"Chris Stow?" A voice asked, and I turned to find Tory Brennan standing behind me, staring at me with some confusion in her eyes. It was understandable, her being confused; I was one of the funniest guys at school, always cracking jokes and making people laugh.

"Hey Tory," I muttered. "Just… feeling really bad today."

She smiled sympathetically, and I managed a weak smile as I walked back over to the table I had been sitting at, reaching down to pick up my bag.

 **SNAP.**

"Damn!" I hissed as I stumbled, falling to one knee. I heard Tory walking towards me, but the really weird part was that it seemed like I could hear everything that she was wearing moving. I somehow knew she was reaching out to grab my shoulder, and I spun, my hand shooting up to grab her wrist. Tory stared at me, and I quickly released her.

 **SNUP.**

"Ugh." I groaned as the feeling passed, and I braced myself on a chair as my body threatened to collapse. Shooting a glance at Tory, I saw she was still staring at me. Without another word, I grabbed my bag and raced out of the library, just wanting to get away from her.


End file.
